


Thawing Ice, melting Hearts

by ThymeSprite



Series: Marvel Imagine Stories [9]
Category: Captain America (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Dancing, F/M, Hot Chocolate, Ice Skating, Movie Night, Nudity, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Walking In On Someone, Winter, twice
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-14
Updated: 2015-02-14
Packaged: 2018-03-12 10:52:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,831
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3352955
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThymeSprite/pseuds/ThymeSprite
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Both too shy to act on their feelings, pure chances gives both the reader and Steve a little nudge to make them confess their feelings.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Thawing Ice, melting Hearts

**Author's Note:**

> This oneshot was inspired by [this tumblr-blog](http://marvelximagine.tumblr.com)  
> “Imagine accidentally walking in on Steve and seeing him naked” and “Imagine Steve accidently walking in on you and seeing you naked”

“Come on. It’s not as hard as it looks.”, you reassuringly smiled at your good friend Steve, but you could not help giggling. He was just too adorable, standing there, not daring to do what you had brought him here for.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”, you then teased him, “Captain Steven Grant Rogers, always ready to go into the breach, the thick of it… is too afraid to go ice-skating with me?”

“I am not…afraid.”, Steve mumbled slowly, pouting, “It’s just… this doesn’t look particularly safe.”

“Says the Super Soldier.”, you countered and, just to show off, made a pirouette, striking a pose when you looked at him again.

“Come one, Steve.”, you told him, skating closer to him where he was standing at the entrance, not yet on the ice, “You can always hold onto the barrier. And I’m here to tell you what to do.”

He gave you a doubting look, biting his lip, but you already knew that you had won. Steve never refused you anything, from making pancakes for you in the morning to watching movies no one else wanted to watch with you, he had always been there if no mission had snatched him away from you. He was your best friend… possibly more. No, surely.

But you pushed the thought away, there was no room for it now. Instead, you reached out for Steve and told him: “Come one, big boy, the ice isn’t gonna bite you. Just hold onto the barrier, give me your hand and we’ll skate. It will be fun!”

“Alright.”, he then sighed wearily and gingerly stepped onto the ice, gripping the barrier so tightly you expected it to groan and break under the pressure any second. But it held out, fortunately.

“How…”, Steve began, his long, strong legs all tense as he tried desperately not to move on the ice without proper instruction, “How do I do this?”

“I still can’t believe you’ve never been ice-skating in your life.”, you muttered, shaking your head. He had been born in New York and never even once been ice-skating in front of the Rockefeller? Never ever? Unbelievable.

“I was not really…athletic back when I had time.”, Steve mumbled unhappily, “And then there was the War and then…you know.”

“Yes, I know.”, you affectionately told him and you did. After all, you had been assigned to show him the customs of this new time he had come in after being thawed. So you quipped: “See this afternoon as education. If you’ve never been ice-skating, you have just got to learn it.”

Steve grinned, but gave you a disbelieving look, so you nodded exaggeratedly: “Oh yes. Who knows, maybe you will have to race some scallywag down a frozen lake sometime? Better be prepared.”

“Alright, (Name).”, Steve laughed, giving in, “I’m afraid I won’t get to such a criminal anytime soon, judging from the fact that I’m afraid I will ungracefully land on my behind with my first movement. So, how do I do this?”

“Keep one hand on the barrier.”, you instructed him, “Give the other to me. I’ll show you.”

He did as he was told and bemused you grinned to yourself. He was good at following orders…

When you had his hand securely in your gloved one (and damning the gloves, but it was cold…) you told him: “Look at my feet. This… is how you move forward. Now try, gently. I don’t want you rocketing away from me and to the other end of the ice.”

Together you laughed, then Steve tried, very, very gently. So gently, in fact, he did not even move. You snickered, poked him in the ribs and when he tried to evade your jabbing finger, he did move, but involuntarily.

“See?”, you laughed, “That did the trick!”

Steve wanted to say something, clearly disgruntled, but then he just settled for a lopsided smirk and said: “I guess it did. Huh.”

Returning his smile, you poked him in the ribs again, just for good measure and to the desired effect, but when you saw him moving from his own free will, you did not tease him again. Instead you told him whenever there was something he could improve and soon enough, the two of you had mastered an entire lap around the ice.

“See, that wasn’t so hard.”, you laughed and Steve nodded, obviously surprised himself.

“And, seeing that you’ve done well so far…”, you began and spun around, still holding his hand, but you were now skating backwards, “Let’s try without the barrier.”

“No.”, Steve bluntly refused and you almost toppled over laughing when you saw his shocked face.

“Yes.”, you countered and when he simply shook his head, you decided that arguing would not help your cause, so you settled for a diversion. After all, a diversion had enabled you to get him to use his damn mobile phone after months of trying.

“Look, is that Natasha over there? Say hi!”, you called and turned away from him, frantically waving at Natasha – who was not there, of course. But Steve looked, tried to find her, and that was when you suddenly pulled him away from the barrier.

“(Name)!”, he cried in surprise and gave you an exasperated look as you smiled at him innocently, the very picture of innocence.

“Very funny…”, he then grumbled, but you kept smirking, “Don’t you complain, champ. You’re ice-skating and, so far, haven’t fallen on your bum.”

And there… you had jinxed it. Steve slipped, lost his balance and crashed down, his knee hitting the ice so hard the surface actually shattered in a spider-web pattern.

“Oh gosh!”, you mumbled, “Are you okay?”

“I guess…”, Steve groaned and you wanted to pull him up, but he shook his head and, on his knees, scooted over to the barrier to get up. You had to grin while you watched him awkwardly scrambling his big figure up, but you felt bad for your friend and asked again: “How are you?”

“I’m fine, don’t worry.”, he told you with a reassuring smile, the usual smile he always wore and which you had grown so fond of.

“I will, however, not leave this barrier again.”, Steve then stated and you both laughed before you nodded at him, “Okay, agreed. Another lap, though?”

So the two of you started another round, Steve holding onto the barrier for dear life most of the time and you skating next to him, then skating backwards, loving the feeling of the ice beneath the blades of your skates and the cold. It was simply part of ice-skating and you loved it.

“How do you do that?”, Steve suddenly burst out a question and you looked up at him, while skating backwards and throwing a pirouette into it from time to time, “Huh? Do what?”

“This!”, Steve impatiently gestured at your skates, distracted only for a moment, but it was long enough for him to lose his balance again and to hit his knee, the same knee, on the ice, as hard as before.

“Without doing this…”, he then groaned in pain, but he got back up, awkwardly and you even thought that his movements were a bit off.

“Are you really okay?”, you asked and he nodded, but avoided looking into your eyes. You had learned quickly what that meant, so you insisted: “Steve, spill. Are you hurt?”

“M-maybe.”, he then grudgingly allowed and huffed, clearly disappointed with himself, “Some sort of super soldier I am. Can’t ice-skate and hurt myself by hitting my knee.”

“Well, you’re just wearing jeans…”, you said, gesturing first at his legs, then at yours that were thickly clad in warm ski pants that also padded your knees considerably. In contrast to Steve, who had merely shrugged on a jacket against the cold, but he was neither wearing ski pants over his jeans, nor was he wearing a hat or gloves. The scarf he was wearing he wore merely because you had bought it for him and insisted he wore it against the wind. Still, he looked perfectly fine apart from the awkward way in which he tried to disburden his hurt knee, you, on the other hand, already felt the cold seeping into your bones.

“Alright, maybe we should go.”, you suggested grimacing and Steve nodded, “Good idea.”

You helped him to get safely back to the exit, all the while biting your lip. He was Captain America, he would heal quickly enough, but still you felt bad for being responsible that he was hurt in the first place.

“Hey, don’t be disappointed.”, Steve asked, “We can go ice-skating again.”

“So you can get yourself killed?”, you joked darkly and it took Steve by surprise while he walked – or rather limped a bit – back to the car with you.

“I…”, he began, “It was fun, was it not? I had fun. Sorry that I’m no good at ice-skating.”

“That’s not the point.”, you huffed as you got behind the wheel and at Steve’s curious glance, you told him, “I’m not gonna let you drive in that state you’re in. And I’m sorry you’re hurt, I didn’t want that.”

“Don’t worry, it’ll heal.”, Steve smiled brightly and it did brighten your mood as well. Still, on the way back to the Tower, you decided that you would get him some ice against the bruise.

So when you two went your separate ways in the Tower, you just quickly shed off the thick winter clothing, then you went back to the kitchen to get some ice. Collecting it in a bag and wrapping that up in a towel you made your way up to Steve’s room and knocked at the door, holding the bag of ice like an offering of peace even though you knew that you did not need one. But Steve did not answer the door…odd.

You knocked again, but to no avail. Shaking your head and then shrugging, you simply tried the door and it opened. Gingerly you stepped into Steve’s room, you had of course been here before, but you had always been invited and it somehow did not feel right to…intrude.

“Steve?”, you asked, but no answer. That was really odd…

You wanted to call out again, but the sight you saw, just when you had opened your mouth, this sight stopped you. And your mouth remained open, jaw dropped, when Steve walked into the room, humming a quiet tune, but what you were staring at, absolutely transfixed, was his hair, still wet form the shower he had just taken, and his upper body, naked and glistening with droplets of water you envied. He walked into the room bare-foot, wearing nothing more than a towel.

That man was… drop-dead gorgeous.

You had fallen for him months ago, but that sight merely gave you even more to dream about. As if you had needed even more…

“(N-name)?!”, Steve stuttered when he saw you and in his surprise, he lost the grip on his towel that slid down his strong legs, onto the floor…

You averted your eyes as quickly as you managed to, but that split-second you had seen him, stark naked, just standing there, staring at you, that moment was branded into your memory for all eternity.

“I b-brought ice!”, you stammered, waving the bag of ice awkwardly, “Ice, you know, for… ah…for, ahem, your…knee!”

Gosh, for a moment you had been afraid your tongue would slip and make you name a quite different part of his anatomy. You had not looked for very long, but what you had seen had shown you that there was undeniably a lot to see.

“Uhm…”, Steve fumbled for words and you glanced at him to see, to your relief, that he had scrambled the towel up again and was now holding it with an iron grip to cover his private parts, “I’m… thank you. I’ll… get decent.”

You felt as if your head was about to explode, so much blood was roaring in your ears and your cheeks were aflame. Staring down onto the floor, you willed it to open up and swallow you whole, but no such luck.

“(Name)?”, Steve’s voice snapped you out of your thoughts and you looked at him, “I’m… decent now.”

“I’m so sorry.”, you blurted out, but he merely shrugged, wearing a tight white t-shirt that left nothing about his torso to imagination and light grey sweatpants. Don’t turn around, don’t turn ar… you chanted in your head, but of course, Steve did turn his back and you could not help it, your gaze dropped to his backside. It was a sexy butt…

“…a look at it?”, Steve asked and your eyes shot up to meet his, afraid you had been caught, so you stuttered, “B-beg your pardon?”

“My knee.”, Steve gestured at the said bruise, “Would you take a look at it?”

“Sure.”, you said, sighing in relief, even though you did not understand his reasoning, but you knelt down next to him, sitting on the couch as he rolled up the leg of his sweatpants.

“Ouch.”, you hissed when you saw the bruise for the first time. Okay, you had seen it before when he had been naked, but first, you did not want to think about that while you were still with Steve – alone – and second, you had not really paid any attention to his knee. At all.

Now you were looking at it and it was all black and blue, slightly greenish at the edges of the bruise.

“That will take a few days.”, you muttered, but Steve shrugged merrily, “I guess it will be gone the day after tomorrow, at the latest.”

“Show off.”, you teased him, brows raised and then you both chuckled, until you unceremoniously put the bag of ice against his bruised knee. He jumped in his seat because of the cold and then glared at you, but he was already smiling while doing so and you jested: “What? You’ve been in the Arctic for 70 odd years and can’t handle an ice bag?”

“Or ice-skating, it would seem.”, Steve countered and you grinned. It had taken him a bit to warm up to banter, but by now, you both enjoyed the jests.

“So, seeing that I caused you this injury…”, you said and stopped Steve’s beginning objection with a simple gesture, “…I think I should do something for you.”

“You… got me the ice bag.”, he said slowly, blinking and, if you were not mistaken, blushing a bit.

“Yeah, well.”, you shrugged, “I still feel kinda bad, though. So, what do you think of hot chocolate? And we could watch a movie, cross another item off your list.”

“Okay.”, Steve then nodded and now there definitely was a blush on his cheeks, “I’d like that.”

“Good.”, you nodded with a smile and turned to the door, “I’ll be back with hot chocolate in a few. Won’t have time to miss me.”

When you had darted out the door, you realised what on earth you had just said. And gotten yourself into. A whole evening with Steve, after you had seen him naked, for crying out loud. How would you pretend nothing had happened?

You had no idea, but you did not want to call this movie night off. You loved your movie nights too much for that, too much by far. So you shook your head to clear your thoughts, returned to the kitchen and got two mugs of hot chocolate. When you had just thought you would get away scot-free, you almost bumped into Tony.

“Hi, (Name).”, he said, grinning broadly, “Oh, that for me?”

“Hands off.”, you quickly scolded him, “It’s for Steve.”

Shoot. The moment you had said that, you regretted it.

“Aha, so Steve gets hot chocolate and I don’t?”, Tony pouted, but you merely smirked at him and wickedly said, “Exactly.”

Then you walked past him, feeling triumphant. You had just shut up Tony Stark! Strike!

But that did not last long, for Tony called after you, his grin audible in his voice, “While you’re at it, sweetheart. Man up and tell him. Otherwise Capsicle will never get laid.”

You sputtered and would have almost dropped the two mugs, but before you could think of a rebuttal, you heard Tony walk away, laughing his head off. Jerk.

When you came back to Steve’s room, he had already chosen a movie, (favourite movie), one you both liked. This was known territory, that was good.

It felt kind of strange to just sit next to him, sipping hot chocolate, as always when you two were having a movie night, but five minutes into the movie, you slipped into the comfortable routine of such nights.

When the end credits rolled down the screen, Steve turned to you and with a glance at his knee, you asked: “Let me see that.”

He nodded, put the now melted ice away from his leg and you carefully inspected the bruise.

“Huh…”, you mumbled, “It already looks better. You do heal quickly.”

“Told you.”, he smiled, “So…when do we go ice-skating again?”

“Again?”, you asked, surprised to say the least, more shocked to the bone, “Why would you want to go again after…that?”

“It was fun.”, Steve said and you dubiously raised an eyebrow at him, so he laughed, “Alright, the bruised knee wasn’t the fun part, I’ll admit, but the rest was. Spending a day outdoors with you, learning something new.”

You still could not believe it, but Steve told you with a bright grin: “You’ll have to teach me more or I won’t be able to catch that ominous criminal who usually flees over frozen lakes.”

You giggled at the ridiculousness of the joke you had made earlier and that he had used against you now and Steve, almost soberly, asked: “So it’s settled? When do we go again?”

“You’re either very ambitious or just plain stupid.”, you laughed and his face fell.

“Hey, that was a joke. Sorry.”, you said when you saw his features tense up, but he nodded, albeit unconvincingly, “Alright. So… will we go again?”

“If you’d like to.”, you said and he nodded, his smile returning, “I would, very much so.”

You haggled a bit over how long he should allow his bruised knee to rest, Steve stating that he could go again by tomorrow, you insisting that he should not overexert himself. After having said it, you somehow felt sheepish for it, but in the end, you two settled for going the day after tomorrow. Then you two left his room to get dinner and when you were alone, finally in your bed after a long and tiring, yet fun day, with Steve on top of it, you smiled to yourself.

But you had doubts. Sure, you had known your feelings for him for quite some time now and apparently, Tony had seen them too, but Steve…? Not a chance.

You had seen him naked and then you had simply spent the evening together as if nothing had happened, nothing at all. Did that mean he was alright with you having seen him without clothes because there were absolutely no feelings on his side? Or did it mean…?

Groaning, you pulled your blanket over your spinning head. This speculation was getting you nowhere, apart from depression, so you tried to let it go. It was not easy, but you managed to do so by thinking of ice-skating with Steve, of all things. It could not come soon enough.

When you then finally had another go at ice-skating two days later, you had fun, but you also felt bashful around Steve.

It just was not the same anymore… and still it was, somehow. It was confusing.

“Ready to try again without the barrier?”, you asked Steve after you had done two laps around the ice. He glanced at the middle of the rink and then held his hand out for you two take it, asking with his best puppy eyes: “Only if you guide me.”

“Of course.”, you smiled, hoping that if the blush you felt was visible on your cheeks, Steve would ascribe it to the cold wind. You turned around, skating backwards, and held Steve’s hands in yours. Of course, yours were covered with thick gloves, whereas Steve had not even bothered with a hat.

Together, you moved on the ice and you immediately noticed that Steve had gotten much better at ice-skating, like… ridiculously much better.

“Have you been training secretly?”, you teased him and your friend bit his lip, a telltale sign that there was something he did not want to admit, so you threatened with a grin, “Spill, Cap, or I’ll leave you out here on the ice alone.”

“No!”, he quickly said, but you both laughed and he then grudgingly admitted, “I… may have researched ice-skating.”

“How?”, you asked, already imagining Steve in the public library, when he raised an eyebrow at you and asked, “Who taught me to use the internet for research?”

“You googled it?”, you asked, laughing and when he gestured with the mixture of a shrug and a nod, you giggled to yourself.

“What is it?”, Steve asked, smiling in confusion, but also a bit annoyed, you could read him perfectly well by now, so you replied, “You’ve fought tooth and nail against using the internet for months and now… you googled ice-skating? Who’d have thunk.”

“I just… needed the right incentive…”, Steve mumbled sheepishly and you laughed giddily, swaying your skates from left to right while still skating backwards.

“How do you do that?”, Steve asked, curious, and you turned around so you were next to him, then told him: “It’s not that difficult. All you have to do is push the blades in the right direction. Toes to the right, then to the left and boom, you’re swaying.”

Steve frowned then tried, but did not succeed.

“Well, technically.”, you smiled up at him and shrugged, but he asked of you, “Could you… show me some of the things you can do?”

“You mean a routine?”, you asked, abashed, and he nodded again, with a shrug, “If that’s what it’s called when you’re turning around so gracefully.”

You giggled and then shrugged yourself: “Alright, why not.”

Steve managed to skate to the barrier all on his own, then he safely stayed there and watched you as you spun swiftly in a pirouette, jumped and landed sure-footedly. You had almost feared that you had gotten rusty, but without a thought, you simply slipped back into the days in which you had been able to skate more often than you could nowadays. There was only the ice, your breath and your body. You loved that.

After you had finished a few routines for Steve’s entertainment – during which you had totally forgotten he was there – you skated to him and he applauded you, smiling.

“I am… thoroughly impressed.”, he told you and you sheepishly shrugged, “It’s no big deal…”

“Oh, it is.”, he said and as you looked up, he nodded, “Look at me. No way I’m gonna catch anybody skating away from me any time soon.”

Together you laughed at the joke, but then you suddenly shivered.

“Are you cold?”, Steve asked in concern and you had to nod, “Indeed I am.”

“Then let’s go. This time, I’m getting the hot chocolate.”

Laughing, you agreed and together you made your way to the exit of the rink, but you suddenly stopped.

“Something wrong?”, Steve asked, carefully putting an arm around your shoulders and you instinctively leaned into his warm touch, smiling as you pointed to an elderly couple on the ice, “During winter, they come here every week, as far as I know, and they’ve done that for at least 25 years, I asked them once. Every week they come here and dance together on the ice. It inspired me to start ice skating back when I was a kid.”

Steve followed your gaze and whistled through his teeth when he spotted them.

“How is that even possible?”, he then mumbled and you remember wondering the exact same thing when you had first seen them gracefully glide across the ice together, in perfect harmony, perfect sync and always in perfect time with the music.

“That’s impressive.”, Steve mumbled and unthinkingly you murmured a response, “And so… romantic.”

You were silent then, as was Steve, and when you turned around to him, smiling bashfully, you shrugged and said: “I wanted to find someone to dance with me like that. Maybe one day.”

Steve’s gaze followed the couple for a while longer, then he told you: “I’d love to do that with you, just to make you happy, but… I’m afraid I would need a lot more practice just so as not to fall on my behind during the first pirouette.”

You giggled and briefly leaned your head against Steve’s shoulder: “Thank you. It’s good to know someone cares.”

“Hmm.”, was all Steve said to that, then he led you from the rink and drove you back to the Tower. You two had barely entered the Tower when Steve suggested: “Let me just get the hot chocolate, then I’ll meet you upstairs. Do you want to pick a movie in the meantime?”

“Sure.”, you smiled, “Just give me a couple more minutes to change.”

“Alright. Meet you in ten?”, Steve said and you nodded, quickly darting off to get changed and take a quick shower. Ten minutes were time enough for that.

So you entered your room, stuffed the winter clothing somewhere Steve would not see it, then quickly rinsed off the sweat and you also tried to get the chill out of your bones by taking a hot shower. The water was wonderful, but when you got out of the shower and dried off, you winced and hissed as your skin felt too tight. Sighing as you knew and hated dry winter skin just as much as everybody else, you grabbed your favourite body lotion, inhaling the aroma of (favourite scent) as you applied it to your skin, all the while precariously poising your towel, barely leaving it around your shoulders.

You were quietly mumbling the words of your favourite song to yourself, when there was a sudden click. Your door…!

The sound made you spin around and you were shocked to see Steve standing there, two mugs in his hands, so this surprise made you stand straight… and of course, your towel slid off your shoulders in the process.

“S-Steve…!”, you stuttered, but he was just standing there, staring at you, his eyes wide as saucers and his face red.

You quickly got your towel to cover yourself, but the damage was done. Panting in embarrassment, you tried to say something, but you simply could not. You gulped, tried to think of something, but could not come up with anything, however, from the chill in the room and your embarrassment your arms and legs were covered in gooseflesh – if barely anything else.

“Are you cold?”, Steve asked, his voice a deep rumble, husky and throaty, “Cause I’d love to warm you up.”

Now it was your turn to stare at him in disbelief. Had he really just…?

Shaking his head, Steve quickly placed the mugs on your coffee table and stammered: “I don’t know where that line came from, but… you’re just so beautiful.”

You tried to speak, but could not, while Steve was stumbling over his own words, his hands twitching nervously.

“I don’t know where that came from, either.”, he muttered and stepped closer to you, even closer, so close he was just an arm’s length away from you, “But… it’s true. You’re beautiful, not just because you’re… well. I’m all thumbs with this, I don’t know what to say apart from…”

He fell silent and you were still trying to form any word at all, in vain of course. Steve looked into your eyes as if searching, hoping for some sort of truth hidden in them. Then he gulped and blurted out: “I love you.”

You had no idea how to respond to that, but you smiled, hoping he would understand.

“(Name), say something, please.”, Steve pleaded, reaching for you, but withdrawing his hand again. You grabbed it, though, involuntarily letting your towel fall again due to it, but when it pooled around your ankles, you chose to ignore it and instead you stepped closer to Steve. He gulped and you smiled, thinking about how adorable he was, almost taking a step away from you, but you closed your arms around his waist and whispered: “You can’t know how long I’ve hoped for those words.”

Steve stared at you, but when you got to the tips of your toes and pressed your lips to his, he understood and eagerly returned your caress. No way would you be cold tonight.


End file.
